How To Paint Your Nails Like A Professional

-Bead in the middle

“Pull the brush from the bottle scooping a small bead of polish on one side. Place the bead in the centre of the nail to avoid flooding the cuticle then lift the brush up and ease towards the cuticle line,” says CND‘s Global Education Ambassador Nataliya Al-Ta’ai. “This technique allows the brush to fan out for precise application – a tiny margin should be left between the cuticle and the polish. Glide the brush from the cuticle back up towards the free edge [that’s the top of your nail] to complete this stroke, leaving even coverage on the centre of the nail,” she adds. Basically, you don’t want to get polish on your cuticles or the edges of your nails as this looks messy.

“Many of us overload the brush and do too many strokes,” agrees Nails Inc. founder Thea Green. “The key is to load just enough polish on the brush to cover the nail in one coat.” She recommends striping your nail three times: once down the middle and once on each side (see below).

-Rotate right

“Rotate the finger right and use the left side of the brush to apply colour over the left side of the nail. Follow the contour of the side wall as closely as possible from the cuticle line to the free edge. Do not re-dip the polish for this as there should be enough polish to cover the nail completely,” sats Nataliya

-Rotate left

“Rotate the finger left and using the right side of the brush apply colour over the right side of the nail. Once again, follow the contour of the side wall as closely as possible from the cuticle line to the free edge,” Nataliya says.

-Seal the edge

“Remove excess polish from the brush on the side of the bottle and apply a thin line of colour along the free edge to seal it and ensure complete coverage,” says Nataliya. “This will help to prevent the polish from lifting if you bump your nails, so it’ll stay in place far longer,” she adds.

-Repeat and refine

After a full two minutes (set your iPhone timer if you know you’re going to cheat), apply the second coat of nail polish.Repeat the steps above to provide additional coverage “any free margins can be perfected with the second layer,” says Nataliya. Sheer or pastel shades may require a third coat for full, seamless coverage, but remember: while thick layers may cover your nails more quickly, they’re also more likely to end up with imprints or chips, so stick to lightweight layers.

As for nail colour, Essie never lets us down, OPI has some of our favourite shades, CND gives a salon-worthy finish and Manucurist is gentle on battered nails.